CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Trading Down 0.9% – Here’s What Happened

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) shares traded down 0.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $42.80 and last traded at $43.04. 308,445 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 2,277,744 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CRSP shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI raised shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $99.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.40.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.04 and a beta of 1.67.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by $0.71. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 18.46% and a negative net margin of 981.54%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 18,360 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.20, for a total transaction of $1,013,472.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 171,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,473,037.60. This represents a 9.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John Greene purchased 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $44.85 per share, with a total value of $313,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $313,950. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 108.6% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 6,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 3,210 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 690,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,166,000 after buying an additional 13,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 101,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,999,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CRISPR Therapeutics Company Profile

CRISPR Therapeutics is a gene-editing company focused on developing transformative gene-based medicines for serious diseases using its proprietary CRISPR/Cas9 platform. CRISPR/Cas9 is a revolutionary gene-editing technology that allows for precise, directed changes to genomic DNA. CRISPR Therapeutics has established a portfolio of therapeutic programs across a broad range of disease areas including hemoglobinopathies, oncology, regenerative medicine and rare diseases.